Ford Madox Brown Biography | Oil Painting Reproductions

Ford Madox Brown education was limited, as the family often moved between lodgings in the Pas-de-Calais in France and his relatives in Kent, England, yet, he demonstrated artistic ability in the reproductions of old master prints. The family finally moved to Bruges in 1835 so Brown could study at the Academy under Albert Gregorius. Then again he moved to Ghent the following year to continue his studies under Pieter van Hanselaere. He moved once more to Antwerp in 1837 to study under Gustaf Wappers.

His early works were, greatly respected by the youthful Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who requested Brown to become his tutor. Through Rossetti, Brown came into contact with the artists who went on to shape the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Even though he was connected with them, he was never a member of the Brotherhood itself but embraced their bright colors and realistic style.

Ford Madox Brown struggled to make his mark in the 1850s, with his paintings failing to find buyers, and he considered emigrating to India. In 1852 he started work on two of his most critical works.

One of his most famous images is The Last of England, painted from 1852 to 1855, which was sold in 1859 for 2017 equal of $32,000. It portrays a couple of displaced emigrants as they sail away on the ship that will take them from England forever.

Ford Madox Brown's most important painting was Work. Thomas Plint advanced funds to empower Brown to finish the work, in anticipation of obtaining the finished painting, but died in 1861 before the painting had been finished. Brown's worry about the social issues tended to in 'Work' drove him to open a soup kitchen for Manchester's poor, and to try to help the city's unemployed to look for some kind of employment by establishing a work exchange.

By the late 1850s, Ford Madox Brown had lost patience with the poor reception he got at the Royal Academy and stopped showing his works there, dismissing an offer from John Everett Millais to bolster his turning into an associate member. He founded the Hogarth Club in 1858, with William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and his former understudy Rossetti. After a fruitful period of a few years, the club reached over 80 members, including several noticeable members of the Royal Academy, yet Brown resigned in 1860, and the club collapsed in 1861.

Art Movement History: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Artists Influencing Ford Brown: Albert Gregorius, Pieter van Hanselaere, Gustaf Wappers.
He Traveled To Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, England.
Painters Ford Brown Influenced: Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Artist's Biography compiled by Albert L. Mansour at The World's Artist, with text adapted from Wikipedia.